Belarus Threatens To Deport Foreigners Before Election

A Belarusian activist puts up a poster of opposition presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich (epa)
March 12, 2006 -- The Belarus government is threatening to deport foreigners who may be planning to take part in activities the regime views as destabilizing ahead of the country's presidential election, on March 19.

He said authorities believe that some Georgian nationals are planning to enter Belarus, some through Russia and Ukraine, and may try to stage a "propaganda show" in Minsk airport if denied entry.

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is a seeking a third term in the poll. European Union and U.S. officials have already said they do not expect the election to be judged to have complied with democratic standards due to the Lukashenka regime's crackdown on independent media and harassment of the political opposition.

(AFP, ITAR-TASS)

Arrested On The Air

Hanna Horozhenko in a Channel 5 publicity photo

HANNA HOROZHENKO is a reporter for the Kyiv-based Channel 5, which played a crucial role in breaking the information blockade in the Ukrainian state run media during the Orange Revolution protests in Ukraine in November-December 2004. Although Horozhenko was accredited by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry to cover the presidential election campaign in Belarus, she was arrested in Minsk on March 12, immediately after a meeting with some 2,000 voters held by united opposition candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich. The arrest came as she was reporting live by the telephone to Kyiv.

LISTEN

Listen to the audio of Horozhenko's report and arrest, provided by Channel 5 (about three minutes):Real AudioWindows Media

Horozhenko was detained together with a Channel 5 camera operator and a group of Ukrainian students who came to Minsk from Ukraine to show their support to the Belarusian opposition. Police released her several hours later, following the intervention of the Ukrainian Embassy in Minsk. "The actions of the OMON [riot police] -- that was really something," Horozhenko told RFE/RL's Belarusian Service after her release. "I have never heard such words addressed to a human being, I have never seen such boorishness. I was shocked." Belarusian police routinely arrest a dozen opposition activists after every opposition gathering in order to reduce the possibility of post-election protests against the official election results, which are expected to be heavily in Lukashenka's favor.